The Insane Clow Posse show you how it’s done. Must-read article.
The attention lavished on “Miracles” was largely negative, but it was enough to propel ICP up from the underground—and the duo didn’t come alone. Over the past decade, Bruce and Utsler have quietly built a massive pop-culture sleeper cell of fans, who call themselves the Juggalos (so named for a 1992 ICP song, “The Juggla”). While most of us happily ignored ICP, the Juggalos embraced the band’s outsider status, helping albums like 2009’s Bang! Pow! Boom! debut at number four on the Billboard charts. Over the years, in fact, ICP has sold a respectable 7 million albums. And that’s just the beginning. Juggalos also flock to ICP’s long-running online store, which sells everything from action figures to baby gear to an energy drink, Spazmatic. There are ICP movies, radio shows, and an annual music-festival-slash-brand-enhancer, the Gathering of the Juggalos. A recent Nightline segment estimated that Psychopathic has revenue of $10 million a year, and while Bruce disputes the figure, he owns four homes in Detroit and has already saved up enough to pay the college tabs for his two kids, ages 3 and 5.